If you’re interested in getting corrective rhinoplasty surgery to improve your nose, you’re probably just starting to research the procedure online. Noses have complex internal and external architecture, and rhinoplasty is a complex type of surgery, so before you dive into the deep end, let’s get started with some basic nose anatomy.
The internal structure of the nose is made up primarily of two types of tissue: bone and cartilage. The top half of the nose is supported by bone, and the bottom half is supported by cartilage.
But to simplify how we cover nose anatomy, let’s forget about halves. It’s helpful to look at the nose as having an upper third, a middle third, and a lower third. The upper and middle thirds have the bridge, and the lower third has the base and the tip of the nose.
The upper third of the nose has the radix, the area at the very top of the nose, between the eyes. Below the radix is the bridge of the nose, also called the dorsum.
The middle third of the nose is also called the middle vault. Externally, it only features the dorsum. Internally, the middle vault is where the bone of the nose meets the cartilage. Often, the dorsum features a dorsal hump, a malformation composed of bone and cartilage. Removing this hump is an example of a typical rhinoplasty procedure.
In the lower third of the nose, the base, you have the nasal tip and the nostril area. The nasal tip culminates in two points, called the tip-defining points. The area directly above these is called the supratip. The nostril area features the alae, the flaring arches of the nostrils. The holes are called nares or nostrils. Between them is the columella, the outer skin area that separates the nostrils. The inner area that divides both sides of the nose is the septum.
Now that you have a grasp of basic nose anatomy, you’ll find it easier to understand plastic surgeons when they use some of the technical terms associated with rhinoplasty. To learn more about rhinoplasty, speak with Dr. Farhad Rafizadeh, a board-certified plastic surgeon in the New Jersey area. Contact our office for a consultation.